Boomplay and CAPASSO extend licensing partnership

CAPASSO is a mechanical copyrights collection agency based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The deal increases CAPASSO’s mandate to collect and distribute publishing royalties from five to 20 countries on the continent.

Boomplay director of content and strategy Phil Choi says the partnership extension builds on the company’s vision and commitment to empower the African music industry and unlock its full potential.

“Since the start of our partnership in 2015, CAPASSO has been one of our closest partners in making sure composers in Africa receive their fair share of royalties for their work,” Choi said. “We are passionate about playing our part in contributing to the African music industry’s vast growth through strategic partnerships such as this one. This partnership will continue to help provide a reliable, fair and transparent ecosystem for artists and publishers, and we can look forward to creating even more revenue streams for artistes via our network of partners.”

CAPASSO CEO Jotam Matariro said: “CAPASSO’s main objective is to ensure that African songwriters and their publishers receive fair value for their works. Thus, it is great to partner with DSPs [digital service providers] like Boomplay, who consistently invest in the full value chain of the African music industry. It is through such commitments that the entire industry can continue to grow.”

Boomplay boasts more than 60 million monthly active users and an extensive music catalogue with over 60 million songs. The platform has partnerships with all the majors as well as top African labels and distributors. Boomplay recently announced the addition of its streaming data to be counted in a number of Billboard charts. The Chinese-owned company has regional offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria, and its music streaming app is available globally.